Tiki-Ko

I love, Love, L-O-V-E this little place. Zowie! I had the best time with the friendliest staff I've ever encountered. Words can NOT describe it accurately...but I tried in a blog post (which you can read HERE if you want: https://monsterago-go.blogspot.com/2017/10/im-freaky-for-tiki-7-tiki-ko-in.html ).

Heading back for round 2 next week. Yes, it's small---but size isn't everything.

Simply the best tiki bar out there. The staff is friendly, and the drinks are AMAZING. Definitely a go-to place for all of your tropical needs🥥🍍

Simply the best tiki bar out there. The staff is friendly, and the drinks are AMAZING. Definitely a go-to place for all of your tropical needs🥥🍍

Simply the best tiki bar out there. The staff is friendly, and the drinks are AMAZING. Definitely a go-to place for all of your tropical needs🥥🍍

Tiki in Bakersfield?? And it's done right?? Traveled to Bakersfield specifically to check out this place and they did not disappoint. Drinks were on point, decor was perfect and the service was great. I have nothing bad to say. Even took a shot with the owner who was in and spent some time with us. Way to go Bakersfield!

Great place! The drinks were wonderful, and the service was amazing. When I got there surf music was playing. which I love, but I asked if they every played Exotica. The guy behind the bar picked up his iPad and switched to a new playlist for me. It doesn't get better than that! The decor was very in tune also. About the only thing less than perfect about this place is the fact that it's in Bakersfield, sort of off my beaten track, but that's not their fault. This place is worth a drive if you are anywhere in the general area.

Very friendly bar with excellent drinks and specials; Roy, the owner is a great guy working hard to make this a tiki destination. I'm not sure the tiki vibe has totally taken over Bakersfield but each time I've gone their have been more people who get it. Definitely worth a stop if you are in or traveling through Bakersfield.

The high ratings for this place had me questioning the breadth of the reviewers' knowledge on the subject matter, but I must say I was pleasantly surprised. I visited around 2:30 on a Sunday afternoon and the place was pretty much dead, but the music was right (60s easy listening and some selections from Mondo Exotica) and the decor was consistent and well done. This is a newish place and you can see a few plain spots in the decor, but the pieces they do have are really outstanding. The bartender said that one of the tikis by the bar (with a long tongue) was actually done by a local patron and was their first tiki - it was outstanding. By the time I left a couple more groups had entered and it felt more lively.

My Mai Tai was very well done according to the 1944 Trader Vic's template and my Painkiller was equally of high quality (using Coruba rum). I even got a small sample of "King Louie" from their weekly special menu - the theme the week I went was Banana - also very good.

Sounds like the downstairs addition is still a ways off, but is a larger space that even has a separate entrance from the street. Intent according to the bartender I spoke with is to have more of a nautical theme and maybe even a different menu. Darker for sure. And it sounds great.

Tiki-Ko is a very good tiki bar well worth going out of your way for. It isn't quite up there in the pantheon, not yet. The menu is a bit small and the decor is a bit sparse. But this place is 1000% better than you'd expect it to be in a section of Bakersfield's aging downtown. Great job by the Tiki Ko team.

We had a very warm welcome (after ten minutes of wait outside, since it was too crowded) thanks to Critiki and the feature to add upcoming visits. They were expecting these 'guests from Belgium'. So: thank you Tiki-Ko, and thank you Critiki! (Ask for the off-menu, the Jet Pilot was very good!)

A young bar, with all the expected compromises, which might have a promising future. Sometimes the drinks are excellent, other times, not so much. My Zombie needed more rum and less syrup, which the bartender painted on my glass with the mint sprig. A sticky Zombie that requires you to wash your hands after consuming in two quick gulps (it wasn't remotely strong enough to require drink pacing.) is a Zombie that needs some improvement. The daily special can be great or awful depending on what they decided to mix: a more even level of bartending skills is needed. The bathrooms are exceptionally clean, which can be scary if you're more used to Hawaiian or other tiki bar standards. Decorating is strictly milquetoast. Go next door to the Woolworth's and revel in their streamlined-moderne lunch counter if you want to see how jaw-dropping a good interior can be.

This is a great tiki bar and the only one in the region. It has great decor, the staff have been wonderful and very enthusiastic when we've been, the range of classic tiki drinks is great and there are efforts at originals. The drinks are great but tend a touch too much to the sour side for my tastes, and not quite "boozy" enough in taste.

Great little spot. Beautiful decor, with decor by Tiki Diablo. The proprietors are true Tiki fans, not just Bar owners. The drinks are some of the best I've tasted. Definitely worth a special trip just to visit Tiki Ko.

Wow! I wish I lived closer so this could be my local tiki bar. Nice decor, friendly staff and good drinks. Looks like a lot of care and thought went into the space.

Off to a great start. Two exclusive Tiki Mugs from Tiki Farm. Small drink menu as well as small square footage. The owner says they are working on expanding both soon. The basement is being finished for expansion. Low lighting and the kind of music you would expect. If you are in the area it is a great stop.